This story is near to my heart and that I am very proud of it. I hope that you all do not mind.
When I was a kid living on Long Island, NY. My older brother John purchased a 9' plywood pool table from Sears and put it in our basement. That is where I came to love the sport of pool. John was a very good pool player and once was kicked out of a pool room for hustling. With his teaching, my game started to improve and I always wanted a good pool table with a slate top.
In 1968 when I was 16. a friend of mine (Alan Sherman) and I went into NY City to watch the World 14-1 Championship of Pool being held at the Statler Hilton Hotel hosted by the Wide World of Sports. All the great pool players were there and I got to see everyone (They were the Mickey Mantles of pool). The tour. was played on about 8 tables (9' by 4 1/2) and were all the same brand tables (Dimalto, Riviera table). Really a championship table. The championship match came down to Irving Crane beating Luther Lassiter in a great battle., During the matches, Alan & I came across the manager of the Hotel and asked him where he got the tables for the tournament. He gave us the name of the place in Mineola, L.I. After the night was over and I returned home at midnight (getting in trouble from my Mom) I told her about the great table that they played on and told her that Alan & I were going to go see it the next day. The next day we were off to Mineola and sure enough when we walked into the store, there it was all set up but the cost was $1,000.00 (which is a lot of money to me now, so in 1968 that was big time money). I returned home, telling my Mom and telling her that the table cost too much. She asked a few questions and that was all. Two weeks later my Mom came to me and said " Michael are you ready?" I said: what for Mom? and she stated that: "Your Dad & I got you the pool table and it is being delivered today". I went berserk, I was so happy. All summer, I had worked for a plumber, making $1.50 an hour (digging ditches, crawling under houses, you name it) I had fixed up the basement with my own money and I know that they were proud of me putting in paneling, a new ceiling & carpet. I was a happy young man and had that championship table.
Two years later, my life took a turn for the worst, my Mom died at the age of 43 with stomach cancer. My older brother John was in Vietnam. Then without warning my Dad told me that he was selling the house, sending my two younger brothers to Pa. to live with my grand parents and that as soon as the house would be sold, I would have to find a place to live. Lucky for me it took a while to sell and I made it threw 12th grade, keeping my secret with me during that year.
I stayed away from the people buying the house b/c I was so upset, I did not even learn their names. I hit the road, bouncing from one friend's house to another until I took enough. I joined the Army.
After the Service, I came back to L.I. and went to Suffolk C.C. for two years majoring in Crim. Justice. I then got the job that I have today. All these years, I have been thinking about my Mom, the house, and the pool table. Many, many years... About 10 years ago, I decided to write a letter and address it to my old house. I stated that I grew up in that house and so on & asked if they could tell me the brand of the table (I did not remember the make at this time) and maybe take a picture of it for me. I was hoping to maybe find another table like it.
The owner of the house called me and told me that they had purchased the house about 10 yrs prior and stated that the people (the Giovincos) had moved to Pa., he believed to East Stroudsburg. I call information and got a few Giovincos, all leading to the right ones. When I call their house, Mrs G. answered the phone and I told her that this was going to be a strange phone call. I told her who I was and before I could say anything else, she shouted out, "Michael how are you and your brothers Wayne & Eugene?" She had remembered a lot about us kids. She then put her husband on the phone "Charlie" I told him why I was calling and he stated, "Would you like to buy your table back?" I said yes as we were both crying over phone. He told me to make him an offer. I told him that I would give him $10,000 if I had it but I did not. I said would you take $3,000 and he said,
"Give me $1,500 and the table is yours!"
A local pool table store owner, that I have become friends with over the years, gave me $3,000 (way too much money for an old table that I had in my house here in Tx., and paid for the trip to Pa. to pick up my table.) Well, I loaded up the family in my pick up, my brother Eugene met me at Mr. G's house where we took the table apart loading it into the back of the pick up and having a great dinner with Mr. & Mrs. G. We then drove to L.I. and visited with my brother Wayne and had a great time.
So, I have my pool table back that my Mom got for me in 1968 right here in my house. I put a small plaque that I glued to the end of the table that reads: "In memory of Olivia Grosso"
I hope that you all enjoy this story b/c I feel that my Mom is always around me, and your love ones are around you. Always remember that.
:thumbup:
